Tag Archives: vegan chocolate cupcakes

In honor of the occasion, I made my annual vegan, sharky cupcakes and thought I’d share the recipe with you!

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup + 2 tbsp flour

equivalent of one egg (I used Ener-G Egg Replacer, but you can also use ground flaxseed.)

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp cocoa powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup of soy milk

1/4 cup oil

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup water

Directions:

Stir dry ingredients together — sift if anything is clumpy — and then add remaining ingredients. Mix together in a large bowl and then poor into cupcake tins, filling about 2/3 of the way. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

Vegan Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

1/2 cup nonhydrogenated shortening

1/2 cup Earth Balance vegan butter

3 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup vanilla soy milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

blue food coloring

Directions:

Beat shortening and vegan butter together until mixed. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Then add remaining ingredients.

Chocolate shark fins

Sometimes vegan chocolate can be difficult to find, but if you have a Trader Joe’s you’re set because they’re pretty well stocked. I’ve tried melting their chocolate chips and molding shark fins and let me tell you: This is a terrible — and ridiculously messy — idea. Don’t do it!

This time I simply bought a few vegan chocolate bars and cut out the fins. If you try this and the chocolate breaks, simply soften it on the stove or in the microwave for a few seconds.

Ice your cupcakes, top them with chocolate fins and take a bite while you tune in for Shark Week, which kicks off at 9 p.m. Sunday!

A report came out this week that threatened shark species are being found in soups in cities across the United States. Up to 73 million sharks are killed each year to satisfy demand for shark fin soup. Bowls of the soup can sell for around $100 in a restaurant, which is absurd. Imagine how many vegan Shark Week cupcakes you could make with that money!

So skip the shark fin soup and whip up some yummy cruelty-free cupcakes. Besides, studies show that people who eat shark fin soup are *85 percent more likely to be eaten by a great white.